For purposes of this disclosure, the noun “display” refers to the hardware component that a data processing system uses to present visual information to a person (the “user”). When a conventional data processing system is turned on (“powered on”), the display is powered on regardless of whether the user is actively interacting with the data processing system. The power, or energy, used by the display when powered on may be wasted in scenarios where the user does not require that the display be powered on. For instance, the user may leave the area where the data processing system is located and the display may remain powered on unless the user specifically instructs the data processing system to power off the display. For purposes of this disclosure, the term “power off” denotes turning off the power.
Saving power has become more desirable with the advent of mobile data processing systems, such as smartphones, laptops, and other devices that may rely on battery power. A user may conserve power by disabling specific features, such as a module that searches for wireless connections; components that enable various communication channels, such as the protocol known by the trademark BLUETOOTH and so-called third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), or other high-speed internet connections; vibrating alerts; multiple email accounts; options to perform automatic email or web browser updates; etc. A user may turn the entire device off when not in use, or if available, switch into a mode where signal transmitting functions are suspended (“airplane mode” or “offline mode”). A user may terminate applications that are potentially running in the background or avoid applications that require high amounts of power, such as games or music applications. A user may also save power being used only by the display by reducing the brightness of the display, setting a time out feature to a low value to cause the device to power off the display quickly after the user has stopped providing user input, avoiding screensavers, or manually powering off the display.
Power-saving solutions may also be implemented by developers. For instance, a developer may create a software application that powers off the display when certain activities occur, such as answering a phone call on a smartphone. A developer may also create technology that reduces the amount of power used by a display. For example, some liquid crystal displays (LCDs) use the display processing technology marketed under the trademark PIXCALE to reduce power consumption. A company called Unipixel has also suggested some display technology that allegedly uses less power than conventional displays. However, if a user is intermittently interacting with a device, power may still be lost when the display remains powered on despite the lack of need for a powered on display.